The Future Of Learning, Transformed By Software

The education and learning industries, like most, should be
profoundly transformed by software and technology over the next
decade.

It may happen slower than some fields, such as media,
communication, and entertainment, which have already seen
disruption. But barring a major derailing, it will happen --
there are simply too many new opportunities, improvements, and
efficiencies to ignore.

Tablets and electronic
textbooks will gradually replace heavy, static paper
books. E-books have different economics than paper,
but are easier to update, can be more interactive, and are much
more portable.

Education will become more
distributed as web services connect teachers and learners in new
ways -- including self-service learning. This won't
replace formal education for most, but it should lead to an
increase in informal and semi-formal education. It should also
lead to an increase in asynchronous education, where people
are learning the same thing at different times -- the opposite of
much of today's education. Think of it as "DVR" or "on-demand"
education, vs. today's learning, which is more like live TV.

Adaptive learning -- where students learn at their own
pace using personalized curricula -- may improve overall
education quality at all levels. Some students will be
faster than others, or better at certain things, but the idea is
that this way, no one's left way behind.

Streaming video and videoconferencing will make it easier
to study courses originated in different cities, states, or
countries. How about learning French from someone in
Lyon? Or a humanities course from a world renowned specialist?
These videos can also
be made publicly available to anyone, not just registered
students: See Apple's iTunes
U or Google's YouTube Edu for early
courses from dozens of universities.

Students and educators will get better online tools to
perform their jobs. For educators, better grading,
course management, and communication tools. For students, better
course selection and study tools.

Over time, these changes could eventually profoundly transform
the structure of education: When, what, and where you study, who
you learn from, how much it costs, how many can attend, etc. But
it's going to take a while.

In the meantime, gradual changes should at least help create a
better learning experience in settings that accept it.